ISA IIoT & Smart Manufacturing Virtual Conference

Event Date: Tuesday, 11 May 2021
Time: 9:00am – 5:00pm ET

About the Event

This conference highlights the technologies driving the next generation of industrial operations, known as Industry 4.0. These new technologies include Industrial Internet of Things, data analytics, edge computing, artificial intelligence, wireless communications, cloud and mobile computing, robotics, autonomous vehicles, digital twins, integrated engineering, virtual commissioning and more.

Jump into the new normal of networking and join us for a full-day of expert presentations, interactive chat activities, and access to technology products and solutions through our sponsored virtual exhibition hall.

Schedule at a Glance*


11 May 2021

9:00 AM ET

Exhibit Hall Opens

9:30 AM ET

SESSION 1: Opening/Keynote - AI Revolution in Manufacturing

While the inception of Industry 4.0 was almost a decade ago, it wasn’t until more recently that manufacturers began investing in Industry 4.0 initiatives. This was accelerated by the global pandemic which exposed the need to innovate existing operations and processes that were impacted by social distancing mandates and restrictions. In his keynote, Dr. Max Versace, CEO and co-founder of Neurala, will explore how manufacturers are leveraging artificial intelligence (AI), automation and robotics to improve quality inspections and augment production yield. He will also discuss how these technologies can be implemented to help manufacturers stay efficient, productive and competitive so that they can survive and thrive in 2021 and beyond.


Dr. Max Versace
CEO and Co-Founder Neurala

Dr. Massimiliano Versace is the CEO and co-founder of Neurala. With decades of experience and research in AI and deep learning techniques, Dr. Versace is now focused on making AI more applicable and useful in real-world applications, specifically in the manufacturing and industrial industry. Prior to co-founding Neurala, Dr. Versace co-founded the Boston University Neuromorphics Lab, and worked with government organizations such as DARPA and NASA to develop AI with the ability to learn in real-time, at the edge, and free of traditional constraints of computational hardware. Dr. Versace has spoken at numerous events, including a keynote at Mobile World Congress Drone Summit, TEDx, NASA, the Pentagon, MIT Tech Review’s Future Compute and IMA Sensing Days. His work has been featured in Forbes, CNN, Fortune, MSNBC, the Associated Press, TechCrunch, VentureBeat, and more. He holds several patents and two PhDs: Cognitive and Neural Systems, Boston University; Experimental Psychology, University of Trieste, Italy.

10:00 AM ET

Break

TECHNOLOGY ADVANCEMENTS

10:30 AM ET

SESSION 2: Cybersecurity & IIoT Architectures

Connectivity is a mandatory step to allow the benefits of the IIOT, on the other hand, this connectivity also brings a big challenge in how to protect all assets. This presentation will bring some insights in how to combine distributed and centralized strategies correlating them to the ISA/IEC-62443 cybersecurity recommendations in order to build a solid cybersecurity system in distributed IIOT architectures.


Felipe Costa
Industrial Cybersecurity Expert, Moxa

Felipe Costa is an Electrical and Electronics Engineer and an official ISA/IEC-62443 industrial cybersecurity instructor for the ISA (International Society of Automation) trained at ISA Headquarters in US. He is also an Industrial Cybersecurity (IACS) Expert at Moxa, an international speaker, and an author of white papers in different organizations, including ISA Global Cybersecurity Alliance. With over 15 years inside the industrial sector dealing with a wide array of technologies and products, Felipe is dedicated to developing mission-critical solutions that include cybersecurity by design. Felipe holds cybersecurity certifications from the US Department of Homeland Security, MIT, IBM, New York University and Stanford, including a MSc. in Industrial Cybersecurity from the Industrial Cybersecurity Center in Spain. Nowadays he is working on an Artificial Intelligence (AI) specialization. Besides he is also a technical committee member on different cybersecurity standardization initiatives, including on Energy, Oil and Gas and ISA/ISO/IEC/ABNT. He also has a specialization from Harvard University in Innovation and an MBA in Marketing.

11:00 AM ET

SESSION 3: IIoT Gateways – Data Acquisition, Storage and Secure Communications for Industry Machinery

Machine builders and machine owners need to know their equipment is running efficiently, when abnormal conditions occur, and when maintenance is required. The rich operational data found at the factory – on the myriad of individual machines found therein – can be aggregated and forwarded to regional or central locations. These IT systems collect, parse and analyze the data.

The threshold to accelerating into digital has never been lower than now, closing the gap between OT and IT. Critical to this are IIoT gateways. These edge controllers collect data and securely transmit to the appropriate destinations. IIoT gateways provide the critical conversion of OT protocols, such as Modbus or EtherNet/IP, into the IT protocols, such as OPC UA or MQTT. Once the local or cloud-based IT systems have the data, they can apply the appropriate machine learning tools. This is where insights are realized into improving processes, reducing costs and ensuring availability.

This session will explore the emerging role of IIoT gateways. It will show how both older and newer machines in factories all over the world can participate in the private or public cloud computing movement. The gap between the OT and IT worlds has never been closer and more critical. The end results are improved operations.


Jeffrey Hayes
Product Manager Beijer Electronics

Jeff Hayes is a Product Manager for Beijer Electronics. He specializes in industrial products for a number of industries including oil/gas, power generation, water/wastewater and marine/maritime. He has over 25 years’ experience in various roles in a number of technology companies. He is the District 8 VP and past President of the Great Salt Lake Section of the International Society of Automation (ISA). He has held his Certified Information Security Systems Professional (CISSP) credentials since 2002. Has presented at scores of local, national and international water/wastewater, power generation, computer networking, information security and ISA conferences.

11:30 AM ET

Break

EDUCATION SESSIONS

12:00 PM ET

BONUS SESSION: Technology Demonstration – Scalable Optimization Solution for Multi-Site and Enterprise Deployments in the Cloud

Sponsored by Control Station

As Industry 4.0 hits manufacturing plant floors, scalability and usability are critical considerations especially for cloud-based technology deployments. PlantESP is an intuitive process analytics and optimization solution that easily scales to support multi-site and enterprise deployments in the cloud.

This talk showcases the challenges of alternative solutions and demonstrates how PlantESP’s architecture and metrics provide significant value in cloud-based environments.


Bob Rice
Vice President of Engineering

Dr. Bob Rice serves as Control Station’s Vice President of Engineering. As the Company’s thought leader and chief product architect he oversees product development and engineering services. Bob has published extensively on topics associated with automatic process control, including multi-variable process control and model predictive control. Bob has also been the recipient of numerous ISA awards and was recognized by Control Engineering Magazine in the inaugural class of Engineering Leaders Under 40.

12:30 PM ET

BONUS SESSION: Lunch & Learn - Best Practices to Deploy Zero Trust Architecture for IT/OT Networks

Sponsored by Tempered Networks

Industrial control systems and OT networks are widely perceived as the most vulnerable attack vectors and the most difficult endpoints to secure. They have traditionally been air-gapped from IT networks and unavailable for remote access, but that is no longer possible. Securing OT networks has different requirements than IT networks and specialized security architectures are required. In this talk, we will explore current security and operational challenges faced by asset owners and operators as IT/OT networks converge. We’ll share best practices on why zero-trust is a big improvement over traditional security – and why it’s effective against external and insider threats. We will also provide recommendations for engaging OT and IT about developing a Zero-Trust strategy to protect your critical network infrastructure.


Kevin Peterson
Solution Architect

Kevin Peterson has over 25+ years of solution engineering and information security experience. Kevin’s years in cybersecurity and network engineering services empower him to credible and a reliable trusted advisor. His proven excellence has assisted customers in incorporating complex components reducing complexity for dynamic, secure commercial, federal and industrial systems.

1:00 PM ET

BONUS SESSION: Technology Demonstration - Why 85% of AI Projects Fail and How Not to Become A Statistic

Sponsored by Canvass

Given that Canvass is an artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) software firm, we believe in the power of ML. However, there’s a discouraging statistic we can’t overlook. According to Gartner, 85% of ML projects fail. Worse yet, the research company predicts that this trend will continue through 2022. Does this point to some weakness in ML itself? No, it points to weaknesses in the way it’s applied to projects. There are many predictable ways that ML projects fail, which can be avoided with proper expertise and caution. We’ve experienced this personally; as we work with different companies, we notice the same patterns occurring over and over again. Join this Tech Demo to understand how Canvass AI is helping industrials make their AI Journey successful and not become part of this statistic.

Forogh Askari
AI Industry Lead

Forogh Askari is an Industry Expert at Canvass AI, a software provider that makes AI accessible to industrial engineers. In her role, Forogh enables and educates users on the benefits of using AI in industrial operations, thus bridging the divide between industrial process engineers, data science and machine learning. Prior to joining Canvass, she held similar roles at Emerson Impact Partners across Canada for 10+ years, where she worked with manufacturing and oil and gas companies to develop their digital transformation initiatives through process automation and data analytics. Forogh has a Bachelor of Applied Science degree in Chemical Engineering from the University of Waterloo.

AFTERNOON OF APPLICATION: REAL-WORLD CASE STUDIES

1:30 PM ET

SESSION 4: Industrial IoT for a Soda-Ash Plant

This presentation will discuss the implementation of IIoT and prescriptive analytics to improve the efficiency of the carbonation towers and boilers for TCL Mithapur plant.

Prasanna Wadke
Technology Evangelist – Tata Chemicals Ltd.

Prasanna Wadke is a technology evangelist with over 25 years of experience with proven skills in IT strategy formation, implementation, and governance. Having strong functional knowledge of IIoT, Analytics, CRM, ERP(SAP), Materials, Distribution, GRC, Knowledge Management, BI and BPR. He has worked in the chemical process, white goods, and engineering projects industries. His recent focus has been on Industrial IoT, Plant Automation, Prescriptive Analytics, and BI technologies.

SESSION 5: Tapping Real-Time USGS Data for Compliant Pumping Operations

The End User is involved in supplying water for the fracking process. This involves withdrawing water from a nearby river. The US Geological Survey has rigid guidelines based on the current level and flowrate of water bodies. The end user linked relevant real-time data from the USGS website to its pumping system through an industrial strength edge gateway that provided a cyber secure air-gap while delivering accurate data, thus ensuring compliance with water use regulations. This automated system eliminated errors and costs associated with manual handling of the data.

Dave Eifert
IIoT Business Development Manager - Phoenix Contact

Dave Eifert is Phoenix Contact’s IIoT Business Development Manager. He has worked in a variety of marketing, sales and technology roles for Phoenix Contact, Johnson Controls, Eaton, and Westinghouse. In his spare time he enjoys biking, playing guitar, writing, and spending time with family.


Floyd Springman
Automation Programmer - Keystone Engineering Group

Floyd Springman has several years of automation experience in multiple industry's. He is currently employed by Keystone. He enjoys tackling new projects and new emerging technologies.

SESSION 6: Water Infrastructure and the Communication Connection

The Coachella Valley Water District (CVWD) recently upgraded one of their 30 year old SCADA control system networks. The $6M budget included upgrading existing Wireless Antenna Towers, adding two new Antenna Towers, replacing all wireless radios and antennas, and creating a fully redundant Wide Area Network.
The benefits of this project have far exceeded the original scope of upgrading the SCADA network, but now also to provide: fully secure, encrypted communications; Multiple VPNs to include not only SCADA, but also 2 way voice radios, Business Enterprise data, Video, resulting in secure network management and data sharing.

Luis Maciel
IT Director, Coachella Valley Water District
Luis Maciel currently serves as the Information Services Director for the Coachella Valley Water District. He has over 20 years of experience in the Information Technology field working in different technical and leadership capacities. Throughout his career, he has successfully supported, managed, integrated, and implemented several different types of technologies. In his current role, he works directly with the management team to identify business processes that can increase productivity, foster innovation, and provide goals, strategies, and best practices that can further enhance the efficiency and productivity of the company.

Victor Wegelin
Owner, PMA Concepts

Victor Wegelin is the owner of PMA Concepts, a consulting firm in Westminster, CA with vast industry experience in the design, build and support of Industrial Control Networks. In addition to instructing at ISA, he is a faculty member of the Industrial Control Certificate program at California State University. He holds a BS in Chemical Engineering from the University of Cincinnati, and an MBA from the University of Chicago. He is a Senior member and Fellow of ISA and a licensed Professional Engineer. He started teaching for ISA in 1990.

ADDED SESSION: Maintenance Optimization with Automation of Equipment Clock Synchronization

Planned maintenance is part of many manufacturing facilities. Scope of planned maintenance can vary by equipment complexity and organizational business processes. Considering high operating costs, and the emergence of IIoT, many companies seek to utilize new technology to automate business processes as much as possible. In this use case, we introduce the industrial example of horizontal application to reduce manual planned maintenance. The use case illustrates how the IIoT platform can be used to automate adjustments of equipment time clock across the organization.

Oleg Levytskyy
Operational Technology Lead, Honda Manufacturing
Oleg Levytskyy serves as Operational Technology Lead for Honda of Canada Mfg, enabling smart manufacturing with IIoT, MES, and ECM. He has held numerous roles within Honda over the years from equipment engineering to manufacturing system plant subject matter expert and project lead. His mantra follows that of Steve Jobs … “The design is not just what it looks like and feels like. The design is how it works.”
2:45 PM ET

Break

IMPLEMENTATION & TREND ANALYSIS

3:00 PM ET

Fundamental Concepts for Successful Smart Manufacturing Implementation

Smart Manufacturing and Industry 4.0 promise agile, lean manufacturing that leverages the latest technology to transform business models, supply chains, and factories. However, many manufacturers are struggling with pilots that fail to scale, small changes that are not truly transformative, pushback from key stakeholders, and uncertainty regarding financial returns. In this talk, Sam Russem (Director of Smart Manufacturing at Grantek Systems Integration) presents some fundamental concepts that can help to drive successful and impactful Smart Manufacturing implementations. Attendees will learn how to associate technological capabilities with business drivers, leverage standards and expert guidance to support the program, evaluate common costs and benefits of Smart Manufacturing technologies, and consider people and process along with technology when planning a digital transformation.


Sam Russem
Director – Smart Manufacturing
Grantek

Sam Russem leads Grantek, its customers, and the industry to innovative Digital Transformation and Smart Manufacturing solutions that leverage the latest industrial technologies to provide unprecedented value. He focuses on the following technical subject areas: MES, IIoT, Advanced Analytics and Machine Learning, Digital Twin and Simulation, Augmented and Virtual Reality, and Edge and Cloud computing. He guides Grantek’s Client Solutions, Delivery, Engineering, and Marketing teams through the Digital Transformation space to provide clients with innovative, valuable, and attainable Smart Manufacturing solutions.

He is responsible for presenting the Digital Transformation landscape to customers and collaborating on how Smart Manufacturing technologies can provide tangible and direct value; Discovering and developing partnerships with technology vendors that lead their space; as well as, leading consulting teams to assess manufacturing facilities, understand where high-value technology opportunities lie, to develop Digital Transformation roadmaps. He also is involved in developing webinars, podcasts, whitepapers, and blog posts leveraging resources from Grantek, its partners, and customers to guide the industry towards successful and innovative Smart Manufacturing solutions.

3:30 PM ET

BONUS SESSION: Technology Demonstration – Enable Operational Excellence with a Contextualized View of Global Plant Operations

Sponsored by ICONICS

Reducing operational costs and improving quality are the most important goals to customers who are seeking greater transparency into their operations. Learn how to transform your operational data into actionable insight by applying ICONICS smart manufacturing solutions to uncover trends and patterns in equipment performance. Discover how IIoT can accelerate connections to existing plant machinery and controls, thereby providing a view of your assets and plant operations which is contextualized according to the unique metadata parameters of your specific application. ICONICS smart manufacturing solutions enable you to minimize production disruptions and downtime, optimize OEE, SPC, and dynamically improve KPIs.

Jotham Kildea
Solution Sales Engineering Supervisor

Jotham Kildea has worked with ICONICS for ten years in roles and responsibilities which cover a variety of industries. His primary responsibilities have been centered around developing solutions leveraging ICONICS and partner products for specific customer applications. He is also involved in guiding the future development and innovation at ICONICS in order to adapt to new requirements in smart manufacturing and analytics.

4:00 PM ET

SESSION 8: IT/OT Convergence: The 1st Step Toward Industrial Digital Transformation

The OT-IT convergence is considered the first step for the digital transformation journey in industrial-based organizations. This presentation brings a strategic point of view for the digital transformation journey, the role of instrumentation, automation, and emerging technologies from industry 4.0 and digitalization of this process. Insights will also be provided about how to execute the digital transformation, starting from OT-IT Convergence.

You Will Learn How to:

  • Connect data from industrial and corporate systems, allowing companies to explore data correlations from back-, middle- and front- offices, being a key factor to create sustainable competitive advantages.
  • Explain how an OT-IT Convergence project goes beyond technology adoption.
  • Involve process optimization and culture adaptation to achieve a successful result with positive impact on EBITDA.

The OT-IT convergence is considered the first step for the digital transformation journey in industrial-based organizations. This presentation brings a strategic point of view for the digitaltransformation journey, the role of instrumentation, automation, and emerging technologies from industry 4.0 and digitalization of this process. Insights will also be provided about how to execute the digital transformation, starting from OT-IT Convergence.

Victor Venancio Dias
Head of Digital Transformation
IHM Stefanini Group

Victor Venancio holds over +25 years of experience in automation and instrumentation, including control valves, flowmeters, sensing technologies and control systems. A robust engineering background and management skills, allows the navigation in corporate and industrial areas of the organizations, using a broad strategic vision, leadership, experience in change management and business development to support clients in their Digitalization, , OT-IT Convergence, Industry 4.0 and Digital Transformation strategic journey.

Previous to his current role, Victor served as Partner Director for KPMG Brazil, as well as holding other key roles in supplier/solution companies including: Mokveld Valves, Tyco International, GE and E+H.

Victor serves on several industry technology boards and committees, is a member of the ISA IIoT & Smart Manufacturing Division and Program Planning Committee, as well as volunteer leadership in the ISA Rio de Janeiro Section.

4:30 PM ET

Networking Chat

5:00 PM ET

Adjourn

Frequently Asked Questions

  • Watch a full-day of online presentations from top industry experts/speakers
  • Participate in live Q&A dialogue with the presenters following each session
  • Download presentation materials to use as a resource/reference long after the live event
  • Visit virtual exhibits and engage with sponsors to find information on products and solutions to your most pressing industry concerns
  • Chat live with Presenters, Sponsors and Attendees at networking breaks, lunch and happy hour
The cost is complimentary for a limited time only. Following the special offer, cost will be $80/ISA members and $100 non-members/list.
You do not have to be an ISA member to attend, and it is open to the general public. However, for more information on ISA membership, visit: www.isa.org/membership.
Through your participation in both the live conference sessions in the Auditorium, and the interactive virtual kiosks in the Exhibit Hall, you have the opportunity to engage with a wealth of ISA subject matter experts, ISA staff, Event Speakers, Event Sponsors and Exhibitors to create a network, gain valuable information, answer questions or find solutions.
Yes. Please contact IIOT Conference & Events Manager, Kim Belinsky kbelinsky@isa.org or at 919.990.9404 for more information or details.
Yes. Like any in-person event, we will have a swag bag for you to collect valuable information and giveaways! By visiting the online Resource Center and each sponsored virtual exhibit booth, you can choose from an array of available documents. You just add the selection to your online swag bag and email them to yourself, or you can forward resources with friends and colleagues by simply entering their email address.
No. You do not need to download or install any software to participate in the virtual event. You only need to have good quality internet access.
Yes, you will be provided login credentials ahead of the live event to test the system, ensure the appropriate requirements, and get familiar with the interface, so that you are ready for maximum participation.
Your login instructions will be emailed to you ahead of the event with all the details you need for access on the day of the live event.
No, it is not required in order to participate as an attendee. Some speakers may use webcams for their presentations, in addition to their audio and visual presentations.
Google Chrome and/or Firefox are the recommended browsers.
Good quality internet connectivity will ensure high quality video streaming. An unstable internet connection may hinder viewing of certain portions of presentations, where applicable.
For technical assistance or trouble accessing on the day of the event, please email: virtualiiot@getvfairs.io .
Yes, the conference recordings will be available to all registered attendees following the live event, so you can still listen to content on-demand, have access to the platform and not miss a beat. However, you must register ahead of time.
The on-demand content will be hosted for 30 days following the live event to all registered attendees. You just login with your same credentials from the live event until the deadline.
If so, you already have them, and just would need to add them to the agenda to the right of the session names.
We look forward to having you VIRTUALLY with us this May!